How To Use Dashes In Essays
The material inside the dashes relates to the information in the rest of the sentence but it acts as an interruption to the main point that you re making.
How to use dashes in essays. Use an em dash to bring focus to a list. Use a longer em dash to join independent clauses with words like and but as or and for. The main use of em dashes is to set part of a sentence apart from surrounding text like brackets. Typically em dashes are unspaced when used parenthetically. How to use dashes in mla essay university of minnesota mfa creative writing application students grade good and bad example essays my december holiday essay.
To properly use a dash in an english sentence start by identifying which dash you should use. Dashes are used to separate groups of words not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does. It s longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. Take it out and the sentence makes sense. Use a dash to show a pause or break in meaning in the middle of a sentence.
Please accept my application for the position advertised in the news and observer. My brothers richard and john are visiting hanoi. To whom it may concern. When the list comes first it s better to use a dash to connect the list to the clause. Since conventions differ slightly from place to place one thing you should do to ensure accuracy is check your style guide before starting an essay.
Could use commas in the 15th century when of course nobody had electricity water was often pumped by hand. The information inside the dashes is off topic. When a sentence begins with an independent clause and ends with a list you can use a colon between the clause and the list. The etruscans a largely mysterious civilisation left behind few archaeological artefacts. The em dash is the largest of the three kinds of dashes.
If you look carefully hyphens and dashes differ in appearance as well as their use so picking the right one in any given situation is vital. It is used in the same manner as a parenthetical expression. Using a colon between a verb and its object or complement. 4 9 5 5 star rating. A dash is a little horizontal line that floats in the middle of a line of text not at the bottom.